Coupler



MW M if. H. Kmfmm mm COUPLER Filed Feb, l0, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet l.

F. M. MAYLEW COUPLER l Sheets-Sheet 5 Filcad Feb. l0. 1954 n www@ 2,709,528 Patented May at, tsss ffice extensas Coursen Frank H. Kayler, Alliance, Uhio, assigner to American Steel Foundries, Chicago, lll., a corporation of New Jersey Application February lll, 1954, Serial No. 409,482

i6 Claims. (Cl. Z13- 162) This invention relates to railway couplers and more particularly to a novel operating arrangement therefor.

This application is a continuation-inpart of application Serial No. 160,070, tiled May 4, 1950, now abandoned, in the name of Frank H. Kayler.

A general object of the invention is to provide a novel side pull top operating coupler which is especially adapted for industrial use as on charging box cars or ingot mold cars and the like, although not necessarily restricted thereto.

A further obiect of the invention is to design such an operating arrangement which may be actuated by a flexible member such as a chain or cable from a side of the car thereby avoiding the use of heavy rods which frequently become distorted due to the conditions under which such equipment is used.

Another object is to arrange the operating parts in such a manner that the connection thereof with the flexible member may be located toward the top side of the coupler to eliminate the possibility of interference with obstacles which may be lying on the track bed.

A still further object is to design a coupler wherein lall the operating parts are enclosed to protect them from damage as from steel which may spill thereon during pour ing ingots or from scrap metal or other objects which may be accidentally dropped thereon.

A different object is to devise a coupler wherein the parts are arranged to provide maximum leverage for the knuckle thrower during the major portion of rotation of the knuckle from closed to open position in order to reduce to the minimum the amount of force required to unlock the coupler and thus prevent pulling the coupler out of coupling alignment position.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a coupler operating arrangement which is completely housed within the coupler and incorporating a lifting lever arranged to translate the side pulling force on the chain into a vertical pulling force on the lock to unlock the coupler.

These and other objects of the invention become more apparent in the specification and the drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a front view of the novel coupler;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the novel coupler;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the coupler taken from the knuckle side thereof;

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional View taken substantially in the plane indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a vertical cross sectional View taken substantially in the plane as indicated by the line 5-5 of Figure 4 and showing the parts in locked position;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 and showing the position of the parts at the start of the opening operation;

Figure 7 is a View similar to Figures 5 and 6 and illustrating the parts with the knuckle in full throw or open position;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 5 illustrating another embodment of the invention, and

Figure 9 is a View similar to Figure 6 of the embodiment of Figure 8.

In certain views parts may be omitted where more clearly shown in other views to clarify the illustration.

Describing the invention in detail, the coupler, generally designated 2, comprises a head, generally indicated 4, said head comprising a guard arm 6 at one side thereof and a knuckle 8 pivoted on a vertical axis as at 10 at the opposite side thereof. The construction is well known in the art. The knuckle comprises a nose l2, located at the forward end of the coupler and adapted to inter-` lock with a similar nose on a companion coupler in the usual manner. The knuckle comprises a tail 14 which extends into a cavity 16 within the head, said cavity being dened by a bottom wall lll, spaced side walls 20 and 22 and a rear wall 24 of the head.

It will be understood that the knuckle is arranged in such a manner that when it pivots to open position the tail 14 moves toward wall 20, which forms the inboard side of the guard arm 6.

rihe knuckle is maintained in closed position by a lock 26 which is movable vertically within the cavity 16 along the interior side of wall Zit, said lock 26 being movable downwardly to the locked position thereof between a locking face 27 on wall Ztl and a locking face 28 on the knuckle tail as seen in Figure 5, in order to maintain the knuckle closed. It will be understood that the lock is a heavy piece of metal and is constantly biased or tends to drop into locking position by gravity.

The lock is actuated to the unlocking position thereof by being moved vertically out of the path of the knuckle tail 14 by a lifting or operating lever, generally designated 30. The lock is provided with a large transverse opening 32 into which extends a hook portion 34 at the lower end of a link 36 and hooked under a bar 37 (Figure 4) at the upper side of lock 26. The upper end of the link comprises an eye 38 which receives a hook portion #ill at one end of the operating lever 3d. lt will be noted that in the locked position of the lock the hook portion 34 of the link 36 extends loosely within the opening 32 and is spaced below bar 37 whereby any tendency of the operating lever to rotate upwardly due to jarring in a direction to unlock the lock will not lift the lock.

The lever is rotatable downwardly and upwardly to positions locking and unlocking the lock, the rotation occurring on a generally horizontal axis aiorded by a pin 42 extending through the opposite end of the lever 30 longitudinally of the coupler through an opening lill in a depending iiange 46 extending downwardly from a top Wall 43 of the coupler and connected to the side wall 22 oi the coupler, the pin also extending through an opening 5@ in the rear wall 2d of the coupler head. The pin is secured in place by a Cotter key 54.

The upper portion of the lever extends into a housing, generally designated S6, said housing projecting upwardly from the coupler head proper and comprising front and rear walls Sit and 60 extending transversely of the coupler, a side wall 62 formed as a continuation of wall Ztl and a top wall 64. The housing communicates at its lower end with the before mentioned cavity l@ and is open through the knuc le side of the head.

The lever Sil is of bell crank form and comprises a pair of angularly related legs 65 and 6d interconnected intermediate the ends of the lever. The leg e3 is widened intermediate its ends to provide weight lugs at opposite sides of the lever which overbalance the lever and tend to urge the lever 3d to rotate in a clockwise direction (Figures 5 to 7), whereby any possibility is prevented of the lever 3d rotating of its own accord or as a result of jarring to unlock the lock. An eye 72 is provided on the top side of the outer end of leg 68 adjacent its juncture with leg 66, to which is connected one end of a chain 74, the chain extending through an opening 76 in housing 56 at the knuckle side of the coupler. lt willV be understood that the chain 74 extends to the side of an associated car and is adapted to be pulled to the left, as shown in Figures 5 to 7 in order to rotate lever 314i in a counterclockwise direction thereby lifting the lock out of locking position with the knuckle as progressively shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7. It'will be readily seen that the weight of the lock 26 and the link 36 and the leg 63 and the weight lug and the eye 72 thereon will bias the lever 30 to rotate in a clockwise direction when the force on the chain 74 is released. Clockwise rotation of lever 30 is limited by abutment of the bottom side ci lever 3i) with the top side of the rear lug 84.

The lock 26 operates a kicker or knuckle thrower 78, said knuckle thrower being in a form of a lever provided with laterally extending trunnions 8d, S0 intermediate its ends, the trunnions extending into pockets 82, 82 within lugs S4, d formed integral with the iront and rear walls 58 and 60 of the housing 55. It will be noted that the front and rear walls 53 and et) are interconnected centrally of the coupler by a load-resisting column S6 which extends beneath the pockets 82, 82. The lever 78 extends over the column 86 and has a toe S8 which iits within a suitable recess 39 formed in the knuckle tail, the knuckle thrower being in a form of a bell crank. The upper or head end of the knuckle thrower comprises a short arm 90 which is highly arched and arranged to engage at its outer end as at 92 with the top side 94 of the lock 26. It will be noted that when the thrower 78 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction (Figures 5 to 7), the toe 88 is caused to engage as at 96 the side of the knuckle tail which is opposite the lock engaging face thereof, whereby the knuckle is urged to its open position by rotating the same in a clockwise direction (Figure 4). lt will be noted that by forming the short lever arm 90 with a high curve, maximum leverage is afforded to rotate the knuckle thrower during the major portion of rotation of the knuckle from closed to open position. The distance from pivot center at Si? to point 92 of the force receiving arm 90 is not less than 50% of the distance from pivot center d0 to point 96 (Figure 6) and this ratio is maintained during at least of thrower operation. It has been established to have this maximum leverage effective throughout at least 75% of the thrower rotation. it will be understood that once the knuckle is set in motion, the force applied at the end of its movement to open position may be considerably less than that required to initiate the movement. Thus it will be readily understood that maximum leverage is applied to initiate to open the knuckle, whereby considerably less force is required to pull the chain 74. It will be seen that upward movement of the lock 26 is limited by abutment of an upstanding lug 9S with the underside or" the leg as at 100 at a point inwardly of the outer end of arm 90. This immediately reduces the ieverage of the knuckle thrower.

It will be understood that when the knuckle is closed either manually or by coupling, the kicker or opener 78 will rotate in a clockwise direction and when the knuckle is locked, the parts will assume the position shown in Figure 5.

Referring to the embodiment of Figures 8 and 9, it will be seen that a housing, generally designated 156, projects upwardly from the coupler head and comprises a front wall (not shown) and a rear wall extending transversely of the coupler. The housing communicates with the before mentioned cavity i6 and in most respects is similar to the housing 56 of the prior embodiment except that it is provided with an opening 176 on the guard'arm side of the head. The operating lever 30 is the same as the operating lever employed in the previous embodiment except that it is now fulcrumed by pin 142 to lugs 141 formed on the guard arm side of the head. In all other respects, the embodiment of Figures 8 and 9 is identical with that of the heretofore described embodiment, hence identical numerals are used to identify the various parts.

The operation of the embodiment of Figures 8 and 9 is substantially similar to that heretofore described relative to the previous embodiment except that the chain 74 now extends to the opposite side of the related car (not shown) and is adapted to be pulled to the right, as seen in Figures 8 and 9, whereby the lever 3i) is rotated in a clockwise direction to lift the lock out of locking position.

i claim:

l. A car coupler comprising a head, a knuckle pivoted thereto for rotation on a substantially vertical axis, a vertically movable lock arranged to cooperate with the knuckle to lock the same, means for raising the lock and for unlocking and opening the knuckle and comprising a side pull lever pivoted on a center in the upper portion of the head to rotate in a vertical plane entirely within a pocket of the head and having provision spaced from said center for attachment of an operating device, said lever also having a hook spaced from the pivot center, a link suspended from the hook and connected to the lock, a knuckle opener pivoted for rotation in a vertical plane and having force receiving and force delivering arms, the end of the force delivering arm being adapted to contact the knuckle, the end of the force receiving arm being adapted for engagement by the lock and being spaced from the pivot center of the opener a distance not less than fifty per cent of the distance from pivot center of the opener to said end of the force delivering arm where it contacts the knuckle and not less than fifty per cent ratio of force receiving arm to force delivering arm remaining effective throughout at least seventy-five per cent of the operating rotation of the opener.

2. A railway car coupler comprising a head having a guard arm at one side and a knuckle pivoted thereto at the opposite side, facing locking surfaces on said head and said knuckle, a vertically movable lock between said surfaces in the locked condition of said knuckle, means for moving said lock vertically to permit unlocking of said knuckle, said means comprising a lever pivoted at one end to said head on an axis extending longitudinally of the coupler and having a leg extending alongside said lock upwardly from the point of pivot of said lever and having another leg extending from the other extremity of said iirst mentioned leg over the top of said lock and operably connected at its extremity remote from said iirst mentioned leg to said lock, and means for actuating the lever connected to said second mentioned leg at a point adjacent its juncture with said first mentioned leg, said means extending through the adjacent side of said coupler, said lever being provided with weight lugs on said second mentioned leg in an area intermediate said connections, and a knuckle thrower lever pivoted to said head on a substantially fixed axis approximately parallel tothe iirst mentioned axis, said thrower lever having an arm overlying the lock for actuation thereby and having another arm engageable with the knuckle to throw the latter to open position.

3. In a coupler, a head, a knuckle pivoted thereto and rotatable in a substantially horizontal plane, a lock movable vertically into locking position and out-of-locking position with respect to the knuckle, means for moving the lock, and a thrower pivoted intermediate its ends to the head and rotatable in a substantially vertical plane, said thrower having a short arm at one side of its center of pivot and a long arm at the opposite side of its center of pivot, said short arm being adapted to engage the top of the lock when it is moved upwardly and simultaneously, said long arm being adapted to contact the knuckle, said thrower being rotatable to open the knuckle, the distance between the area ot' engagement of the short arm with the lock and the pivot center being at least one half the distance between the pivot center and the area of engagement between the long arm and said knuckle during the major portion of operation of the thrower.

4. A car coupler having a head with a guard arm, a knuckle pivoted to the head and having a locking face,

avancee a vertically movable lock positionable between the locking face of the knuckle and guard arm side of the coupler head in the locked condition of the coupler, means for moving said lock out of locking engagement with the knuckle face comprising an upright lever pivoted at its lower end to the knuckle side of said head at one side of the lock on an axis extending longitudinally of the coupler, an operative connection between the other end of said lever and said lock, a housing extending upwardly from said head and enclosing said lever and open at the knuckle side of the head, and means for actuating said lever extending through the open side of the housing and connected to the lever intermediate the ends thereof, and a knuckle thrower lever pivr ted to the head on a substantially fixed axis approximately parallel to the rst mentioned axis, said fixed axis being located intermediate said first mentioned axis and the lock, said thrower lever being engageable with said lock for actuation thereby and said thrower lever being engageable with the knuckle to throw the latter to open position upon actuation of said thrower lever by said lock.

5. A car coupler comprising a head having a guard arm side, a pivoted knuckle having a locking face, a vertically movable lock between the locking face of the knuckle and guard arm side of the head in the locked condition of the knuckle, and means for moving said lock upwardly to unlock the knuckle and comprising a lever rotatable in a vertical plane extending transversely of the knuckle and pivoted at one end to the head and operatively connected at the other end to the lock, and actuating means for the lever extending through a side of the head opposite the guard arm side thereof and connected to the lever at a point spaced from said one end thereof, and a knuckle thrower lever pivoted to the head on a substantially fixed axis, said knuckle thrower lever being operatively associated with said lock for actuation thereby and being operatively associated with the knuckle to throw the latter to open position thereof.

6. A railway car coupler comprising a head, a knuckle pivoted thereto, locking faces on the knuckle and said head, a lock between said faces in the locked condition of the knuckle, and means for unlocking said knuckle by moving said lock from between said faces comprising a lever pivoted to the head at one point and connected to the lock at another point, and actuating means for rotating the lever and connected thereto, said lever being provided with weight means between said points, said lever being arranged to rotate within predetermined limits whereat said weight means are disposed at all times at a side of said first mentioned point whereby said lever is biased by gravity to rotate in a direction of locking said knuckle, and a knuckle thrower lever pivoted to the head on an axis lying in vertical plane passing between said points, said thrower lever being operatively associated with the lock for actuation thereby and being operatively associated with the knuckle to throw the latter to its open position.

7. In a coupler, a head, a knuckle pivoted to the head on a substantially vertical axis, a lock for the knuckle, a knuckle thrower pivoted intermediate its ends to the head on a substantially horizontal axis, said thrower having one leg engageable with the knuckle and another leg engageable with the top of the lock, said lock being movable vertically to unlock the knuckle and operate the thrower which in turn opens the knuckles, said second and first mentioned legs being arranged to afford a leverage ratio of at least one to two, said second mentioned leg being highly curved upwardly intermediate its ends to afford clearance thereat for the lock during at least seventyf`1ve per cent of thrower operation to maintain said ratio.

8. A coupler according to claim 7, and including an operating lever fulcrumed to the head on a side thereof opposite the side to which the knuckle is pivoted, said lever having a connection to the lock, and actuating means connected through the side of the head to said lever.

9. A coupler according to claim 7, and including a housing on the head defining a cavity extending transversely of the head, said housing having an opening on a side of the head opposite the side to which the knuckle is pivoted, an operating lever pivoted to the head adjacent the opening, said lever having a connection to the lock, and a flexible actuating member extending through the opening and connected to the operating lever.

l0. A car coupler assembly comprising a head with a locking face, a pivoted knuckle with a locking face, a vertically movable lock disposed between 4said faces in the locked condition of the knuckle, means for moving said lock upwardly to unlock the knuckle, said means comprising a lever pivoted at one point on an axis extending longitudinally of the coupler and connected at another point to said lock, and actuating means comprising a flexible member connected through a side of the head to said lever at a point spaced from said first mentioned point, and a knuckle thrower lever pivoted to the head on an axis lying in a vertical plane passing between said points, said knuckle thrower lever being engageable with the lock in unlocked position thereof for actuation by said lock after it has passed upwardly beyond its un locked position, and said knuckle thrower lever being engageable with the knuckle to throw the latter to open position thereof.

ll. A car coupler assembly according to claim l0. wherein said point of connection of the flexible member' with said lever is located intermediate said first and second mentioned points.

12. A railway coupler comprising a head, a knuckle pivoted thereto, locking faces on said head and knuckle, a lock between said faces in the closed condition of said knuckle, means for displacing said lock from between the faces to unlock the knuckle, said means comprising a lever overlying said lock and knuckle and pivoted at one point at one side of the lock to said head and con nected at another point to said lock, and actuating means connected to the lever at a point spaced from said one point, and a knuckle thrower lever pivoted to the head on an axis lying in vertical plane passing between said points, said lever having an arm engageable with the lock for actuation thereby and having another arm engaging the knuckle to throw the latter to its open position.

13. A railway car coupler comprising a head, a knuckle pivoted to the head and having a tail extending into a cavity in the head, locking faces on the tail and the head, a vertically movable lock in the cavity extending between said faces in the locked condition of the knuckle, and means for moving said lock vertically from between said faces to permit unlocking the knuckle and comprising a bell crank lever pivoted at one end to said head on an axis extending longitudinally of the coupler above the tail and extending over the lock at the other end and connected thereto, and means for actuating the lever connected thereto intermediate the ends thereof, and a knuckle thrower lever pivoted to the head on. a substan tially lixed axis approximately parallel to the first mentioned axis and engageable with the tail to throw the knuckle to open position, and actuating means operatively connected to said thrower lever whereby said knuckle is thrown to the open position upon unlocking of said lock.

14. A railway car coupler according to claim 13, wherein the axis of pivot of the bell crank lever and the axis of pivot of the knuckle thrower lever are on oppo site sides of the lock.

l5. An automatic railway coupler comprising a coupler head, a lever pivoted to said head at one point, a lock for the knuckle operatively connected to the lever at another point for actuation by said lever, and a thrower lever pivoted to the head at a point in a vertical plane between the first and second mentioned points, said thrower lever having angularly related arms extending from opposite sides of the point of pivot of said thrower lever, one of said arms being operatively connected to the lock for actuation thereby and the other arm bein.7 operatively connected to the knuckle for throwing said knuckle to open position, the distance between the thrower lever pivot and the connection to said lock being at least 50% of the distance between said throwet` lever pivot and the connection to said knuckie.

16. A railway car coupler comprising a head having a knuckle side and a guard arm side, a knuckle pivoted to the head on the knuckle Vside and having a tail extending into a cavity in the head, locking faces on the tail and the head, a vertically movable lock in the cavity extending between said faces in the lock condition of the knuckle, a housing on the upper side of the 'head communicating with said cavity, said housing having an opening therein on the guard arm side of the head, means for moving said lock vertically from between said locking faces to permit unlocking of the knuckle comprising a bell crank lever having one end thereof pivoted to the head adjacent said opening, said bell crank lever extending over the lock at the other end thereof and having a connection to said lock, a knuckle thrower lever pivoted to the head on a substantially fixed axis extending longitudinally of the coupler, said knuckle thrower lever having an arm thereof on one side of its axis of pivot engageable with the lock upon upward movement of the latter and having another arm thereof on the opposite side of its axis of pivot engageable with the tail to throw the knuckle to open position, and actuating means extending through said opening and connected to said bell crank lever.

No references cited. 

